Kingdom Come:: Blessed Are Those Who Mourn

                       
                                                                                                photo credit

There is a way for us to behold glory, and it looks like reaching across the table and just crying with someone who's hurting, not saying much.

Sometimes all you can say, your arms around them, is this sucks.

I understand what it means to be angry at God--I've been there--it's okay.

Because really, that's what God wants to say to them if He could, audibly, but He wants to use us.

Jumping into someone's life and offering advice is a sacred thing. They're making room for you in their secret places, their inner chambers, their heart of hearts, letting you see all their dirt and grime, the dust on the furniture, the stack of food-crusted dishes in the sink. And the last thing they want you to do is point it out, or to look embarrassed when they make apologies. It's best to just give some serious disclosure --girl, look, you don't even want to see my dishes right now--they are way worse.

There is a way to behold glory and it's not in pretending we are righteous. It's not in our walls and our thick layers that protect and our fears that keep others at a distance.

See, I have this huge dream to behold glory, to see Kingdom come here on earth. It's a scary dream really, because I've been burned enough to put my faith right out.

But that's the thing about hope--it's stronger than fear. It just keeps enduring, keeps flickering back on and won't be snuffed out. Satan hates this, I think.


There is a way to behold  glory and this dream is that The Church will trust God to save the millions, and stop marching forward with our crusade in haste, leaving the wounded and the weak in faith falling to the sides in our wake. I hope that we will love well the few right around us, that we will make the time to reach across tables, across pews, across airplane aisles and checkout counters, really see the people behind the eyes we are looking into.

I don't like conquests just for conquest's sake, and I don't think God does either.




{I'm over at Outside the City Gate blog today--will you join us over there for the rest of the story--and discussion?}

***Also--don't forget to link up your stories all week, HERE, on our prompt for concrete words: DIRT!

The series on writing continues tomorrow with the lovely Kelli Woodford guest-posting, and around the end of Feb/first of March, we'll host a huge link-up for everyone to share their stories/hardships/journey of writing and blogging! Get your stories ready--we want to hear them--and we will choose one to be featured at our blogs! **